New Taipei City's young fisherman becomes his own boss, realizing his dream with a monthly salary of 100K

32-year-old Chien Chih-cheng was born in the Huanggang fishing village, and his father is a veteran fisherman in the area who works at "bottom longline" fishing. As the only son in the family, he was not required by his father to take up this trade. Chien Chih-cheng said: "I have always had a strong interest in machinery, and I also like to modify my own car and chase the wind. After graduating from high school, I went to a car repair shop to work as a mechanic, and I also tried running a car detailing shop. It was only in my spare time that I began going out to sea with my dad to fish and earn a little pocket money. Unexpectedly, the more I did it, the more specialized I became. Later, I even went to sign up for a chief engineer training course, obtained my chief engineer qualification, and now take care of the fishing boat myself. Now I earn at least around 100,000 yuan a month, and when there is a good catch I can even get a bonus."

Returning to the embrace of the sea and carrying forward the spirit of an expert to raise the unit price of the catch - what brought Chien Chih-cheng back to his seaside hometown was his gentle and beautiful wife, Mrs. Chien. She grew up in Zhonghe that year, and although she did not know what a "fisherman" actually did, she could see that Chien Chih-cheng truly loved working at sea, and she also could not rest easy about old Captain Chien going out to sea alone. So she actively encouraged her husband to resign and return home to inherit the family business.

The bottom longline fishing method involves tying hundreds of hooks onto a slender fishing line, then using fresh bait such as squid to attract fish one by one into the sea and get them to bite. Unlike bottom trawling, it does not entangle coral and damage the ecological environment during operation, and the catch is mainly large fish. Chien Chih-cheng said: "We all work in the middle of the night. My dad and I take turns driving the boat, resting, and looking for fishing grounds. Every time we set the hooks, we have to be fast, ruthless, and accurate. About 15 minutes after dropping them, we have to hurry and haul them in so the fish bodies stay beautiful and intact. Also, our fish hold is not large, so the amount we can catch is limited, and we can only rush back to the fishing port while it is still fresh. That is why our fish stay fresh and beautiful, and the selling price is better."

Although the income is good, it is full of many hardships that outsiders do not know about. Chien Chih-cheng recalled: "One time when we went out to sea, my dad happened to have a kidney stone attack. At that time the boat was still in the waters off the mainland, and even the coast guard could not come to pick us up. We could only hurry and sail the boat back to our country's waters before we could ask the coast guard for rescue. Another time, three years ago, we caught a full load of mullet and were returning, but who knew the boat had a problem, and the front half of the hull sank underwater. We barely managed to have the coast guard tow it back. The machinery was all soaked. I replaced all the machinery with new ones, and now the boat is just like new, except that the income from that year was all lost as well."

Fishermen's children have many stories. Whether they want to carry on the previous generation's business or are young people interested in the aquaculture industry, there are now many government resources they can use. The New Taipei City Agriculture Bureau said that this year's "Return to Fishing and Hometown Program," tailor-made for New Taipei City, provides entrepreneurial resources and professional training courses, and the Fisheries Agency's "Incentive Program for Graduates of Fisheries and Maritime-Related Schools and Vocational Training Centers to Serve on Fishing Boats," "Fishing Boat Officer and Crew Training," and "Aquaculture Youth Academy Lecture Series," among others, can all provide complete training courses from theory to practice. It is hoped that this can bring more complete guidance measures to young people who aspire to work in the fisheries industry in New Taipei City, so that all young people have the chance to be their own boss!